First, I want to say that the messages I've read so far are very astute in their ideas. As for me, I would like to address the third question about geographical and cultural areas wanting to deny women educational and job opportunities. In Afghanistan today, after the Taliban has had its regime overthrown somewhat, women there are now able to go back to work as they did before. They now have a choice to work or not, whether they have children or not. It seemed that most of the working women did indeed have children and seemed perfectly capable of doing both, and doing them well. Job opportunities are more scarce there than here, but hopefully that will change with time and outside influences, including media and other countries. Another area that I think prefers their women to remain inside the home, is the Amish. Basically, their culture is farm-oriented and most women have children and stay at home. Very few, if any, work in any assigned and/or paid job. Many times I've been there and the women who do work usually do so by making quilts, clothing, or food to sell in the markets. To most of us this seems backward, but not so if you look at it as most Americans did in the wonderful 50s. Stay-at-home moms were the norm, as in my family. My father would have been abhorred if my mother had insisted she wanted to work. Traditional, not necessarily. But that's another story. Suffice to say that my outlook about working moms differed because I WAS a working mom, and managed to do everything necessary to see to the welfare of my children. Should women have their rights violated by refusing education or job opportunities? Over my dead body! And hopefully many of you feel the same. It IS a fine line though, juggling both motherhood and career, but I think we as a society of working women have shown powerfully that we are quite capable of handling both successfully.